I had an idea, and wanted to throw it out there for discussion. I have an electric teakettle (1500Watt) and thought "now there is an electric heater already mounted with a base, and a cord and everything!" So I wanted to see if this would be a good idea to use as a RIMS grant. By installing a port in the lid, and another in the side, you could recirculate the mash wort through this device and ramp up mash temps, or even use it to raise to mash-out temps. The outlet would be installed so as to act as a weir, allowing the fluid to run out of the kettle via gravity, at or below the 'max fill' line on the kettle. I would place a thermometer in the return to the mash tun, and monitor temps that way. At first, I think I would run it manually, just to see how it does. Later I could add a controller to turn the kettle on and off to regulate temps.

It won't be sealed. That's the point of setting up the overflow device. That will allow it to fill to a certain level, and then pour off, back into the mash tun. It's more like a grant than a RIMS "tube."

As for temperature control, I was going to try it out first, and see how it functions manually before moving into anything more complex.

you would be displacing the already small volume of water with the tubing and I would be worried about the ability of the given volume of water to heat a decent sized mash with a reasonable effectiveness.

I had anticipated that I would want to run the wort through at a pretty good rate to prevent scorching. I think I would make a full bore 1/2" port right below the 'max fill' line on the teakettle. This would allow for wort to flow via gravity back into the mash tun. (I think I plan to set this on top of the tun while it recirculates. There is a port cut through the top of the cooler) I haven't decided which fittings to use yet, as I haven't been to the hardware store recently. I just had this kettle, and it got me to thinking.

There won't be anything occupying the interior of the kettle except for the inner part of the fittings I'll be using. No displacement from tubing or anything like that. The capacity is 1.7 liters, which is more than any RIMS tubes I have seen. They usually hold less than a quart of fluid.

Tinga, this is not a HERMS. there will not be a coil inside the teakettle. Wort will be recirculated directly in contact with the element, which is probably high density. I'll have to check on that, and may need to use very high flow rates to keep from scorching. With that in mind, I may need to do something to allow for that high flow rate without compacting the mash.

Tinga, this is not a HERMS. there will not be a coil inside the teakettle. Wort will be recirculated directly in contact with the element, which is probably high density. I'll have to check on that, and may need to use very high flow rates to keep from scorching. With that in mind, I may need to do something to allow for that high flow rate without compacting the mash.

Sorry to wake up a dead thread, but what would be the feasibility of using one of these for a kitchen top HERMS. I am a tea fiend so I was already thinking of having a PID controlled tea kettle to set the temps for green and white teas. But realistically it would not take much to submerge some copper coil and have a recirc pump in one of these.

I never got around to building this, but would be glad to talk you through it. I had planned to use it as more of a RIMS device, where you pump the wort into the kettle, and it would pour over a weir back into the mash tun. Maybe it could sit on top of, or above the tun during the mash, so the wort would pour directly back into the mash via some tubing. This is similar to a RIMS grant that someone on here built a while ago, since it's an open vessel, and not a closed tube.
I'm pretty sure it would be a hassle to install any copper tubing inside the teakettle.